HawkFan

With the focus of the front office on speed and defense, I'm just wondering where Brett fits in, if at all, in the outfield picture. While he's certainly had injury troubles and hasn't hit well in his 100 or so AB's, but he certainly has the arm to play RF at DS.

When I was much younger, maybe 10-12 years ago, my family boarded a plane with Jeff Conine, his wife and his daugther. My grandparents were sitting across from them in the same row. We recognized him right away, but he really wasn't very friendly. We attempted to engage him in conversation, but had very little success. Conversely, when my dad was taking my grandma to the airport even before that, he ran into Chuck Carr; he had nothing else to write on, so he took out a picture of my sister and me, and Chuckie signed that. That has nothing to do with Niner, I just like that story. Probably had to do w/the fact he was w/ his family. After almost 20 yrs of autograph collecting, one thing I've learned is ballplayers don't like to be bothered when they're with their wives and kids. Nor can I blame them; when I'm looking for some private time w/ my loved ones, the last thing I want is to be harrassed by a telemarketer or interupted at dinner. Or maybe he's a bad flyer. It's a bummer your personal exposure to Niner was a negaive one; all I can say is all mine have been extremely positive.

Hope he takes the job cuz I still need his autograph. No offense, Louie, how do you NOT have Niner's signature? Over the years, he's probably been the most consistent and generous with his time. I believe I have upwards of 10 auto's or so from him. I still remember going to the first ST game after the strike, against the Dodgers in Vero. He was he first one who signed for me, and he said "Thank you for coming out and giving us another chance." That made such an impression on me, and as most can atest, that kind of positive experience is par for the course w/ him. Good luck getting your auto. Personally, I think it's more likely he ends up on FSNr the radio, as he did a great job that last series of the year, and the arlins already have 2 special assistants in Andre Dawson and Tony Perez.

Please read this - http://danagonistes.blogspot.com/2005/08/d...ta-and-ops.html. Then stop saying idiotic things like 32 HR and not realize they came at the opportunity cost of a pitiful OBP and bad defense. There is a reason every publication says the Marlins made a good deal and Royals fans are pissed. We're going to get a lot more production out of 1B in 2009. There are also a number of reasons to not bring Rhodes back. He is going to get a lot of money, on probably a 2 year deal. He is old, and there is a huge chance of regression and injury. We have a lot of young arms we need to give them innings. We have 7 relievers without options - Lindstrom, Nunez, Pinto, Nelson, Kensing, Cruz, Delgado. If we don't trade any of them and they aren't on the team, we lose them. Now Delgado doesn't really matter and can probably be DFA'd, but then we have Tankersly, Tucker, Vanden Hurk, and Mobley all on the 40 man roster and sitting in AAA. I suppose we can sign a free agent for 2009, and shed ourselves of Kensing/Delgado (Cruz should absolutely be kept) but it would be much smarter to get someone on a 1 year deal. Rhodes doesn't fit this category. But we really don't need to do that. Lindstrom, Nunez, Pinto, Nelson, Kensing, Cruz, Delgado, Tankersly, Tucker, and minor league free agents. That is more than enough for spring training competition and overall positive potential. By the middle of the year, Vanden Hurk, Mobley, Thompson, Doolittle, and others could emerge as viable options. If we're contending in July and we need a LOOGY or another reliever, we can then trade for one. This is not an off-season issue. We are in good shape. Gotta love it when someone uses "opportunity cost" in a post, the inner economist in me is smiling (kind of like when Samson was on the LeBatard show a few weeks ago and was talking about demand elasticities). However, I wouldn't necessarily call Jakes poor OBP and defense an opportunity cost since opportunity cost is generally a positive value given up in favor of an alternative decision. I would call it more negative utility. As far as Delgado, I think everyone needs to give Jesus a chance. He had next to no chance to show anything w/ the Marlins this year (for example, when he was first called up midway through the season, I was sent down a day or two later w/o pitching a game). He has been quite solid the past couple of springs, and given the opportunity, I believe he has it in him to be a strong long-innings guy for our bullpen. There's a reason we got him in the Beckett/Lowell deal, so let's just give him a chance to sink or swim before we're ready to cut him loose as expendable.

RH SP-John Lynch- First pitch thrown in organziation's history (I also believe he threw the first no-hitter, as well, w/ Erie), could have been a fierce competitor on the mound. Can't say as I blame him, though, for pursuing his fortunes as a Safety. After a Sper Bowl ring and perennial pro bowls, he'll probably be a HOF'er. Rather doubt this. I have seen and read interviews with him and he is the first to say he wasn't a very good pitcher. When he made the final career choice, he made the correct decision. HOFer? Maybe. Kinda borderline, IMO. And there are other Broncos' safetys that deserve making the HOF before him. Seeing you put in Santana, you forgot another 5 minute pitcher we got in a trade. Said he didn't want to play here, that he wanted to play for a team that had a chance at the post season instead. Happened between the '02 and '03 seasons. That should be enough clues. I'll have to go through my old Marlins magazines from the Inagural season, but I'm reasonably sure I read it in there...perhaps in the inagural yearbook. I'm also pretty sure this was on one of his football cards, as well. While I'm sure he ended up being a much better football player than he would have been a baseball player, he was w/ Erie, which was a Rookie League team...perhaps not all that difficult after all. As far as his HOF status, one would have to agree that it's much easier to get into Canton than it is Cooperstown. Heck, they put in Michael Irvin, which was another marginal pick, IMO.

Several weeks ago, there was a topic debating the all-time Marlins team, which got me thinking- what about an all-time team of plyers that never really had their chance to make their mark in teal. They could be players who were only with the franchise a short time beofre moving on and finding (varying) degrees of success, or might never have played a game w/ the big club. Or, they could be a player that had promise and potential, but never lived up to it. Some are easy, others are stretches, so I'd be interested in what everyone else has to say. 1B-Adrian Gonzalez- It took letting go of the overall #1 2000 Draft Pick to acquire Urbina enroute to the 03 Trophy, which sung after seeing him in ST 2001 and 2002. He's gone on to lead the PAdres in hitting twice and just made his first All-Star team. Still is getting better. 2B-Pablo Ozuna- When we traded Edgar to the Cardinals in 98, Pablo was the key part of the trade. A natural athlete, after making a splash in hiting and base running, and making several All-Star teams his first two seasons, he looked to be Major-League ready. One problem- we already had Luis. Attempts to move him to the OF in ST didn't go anywhere, and never really establised himself; still is playing, though, and won a WS w/ the White Sox. SS-Walt Weiss- Played on the inagural squad before jumping ship to our expansion brethern to the west. Decent career post-Florida, making an All-Star and WS appearance w/ the Braves. 3B-Josh Booty- #1 Draft pick who got a then-record signing bonus, then proceeded to blow it all on cars. Could never hit a breaking ball, and couldn't win the sarting 3b job despite it being gift-wrapped for him following Bobby Bo's departure. Had to play out his contract in mediocrity before pursuing his true love of fooball at LSU an eventually the NFL. Recently tased after a DUI. OF-Randy Winn- This is a stretch, but he did make an AS game on the lowly Rays, and hit an inside-the-park Grand Slam. Could have been a starter w/ the trade of Moises and Sheff if the Rays hadn't snagged him in the expansion draft, first. OF-Billy McMillon- He was a great hitting prospect, making several all-star rosters/honors lists; two-tme Marlins Minor League Player of the Year. Could have been a mainstay w/ the Marlins, but we traded him for Darren Daulton. Never could get regular playing time after that. Bummer, heck of a nice guy. Was here for his major league debut, when he got a hit. OF-Manny Ramrez- Whether you believe the Marlins FO that there were no serious discussions, or if you believe PIT/BS and our refusal to part ways w/ Stanton was the only thing keeping this deal from being a reality, the simple fact is he single-handidly carried the Dodgers on his back to the NLCs; our July and August could have been substantially better, and we could have had a Sunshine Sate WS right now. C-Mike Piazza- Come on, only 5 games!?! Instead of being arguably the Mets' best all-time hitter, he could have just as easily been wearing a "F" on his eventual HOF plaque. I have what I believe are all of his cards in a Marins uniform, including a gme used jersey card! DH/PH-Carl Everett- Was on the Inagural team, only played in 40 gmes or so for us. Went on to decent success, incuding two AS games and a WS ring. RH SP-John Lynch- First pitch thrown in organziation's history (I also believe he threw the first no-hitter, as well, w/ Erie), could have been a fierce competitor on the mound. Can't say as I blame him, though, for pursuing his fortunes as a Safety. After a Sper Bowl ring and perennial pro bowls, he'll probably be a HOF'er. LH SP- Johan Santana- Rule V draftee that was a Marlin for 5 mintes before then being traded to the Twins. *sigh* RP- Miguel Batista- Was in our bullpen in 96, has gone on to moderate success both as a reliever and starter for Toronto. CP- Trevor Hoffman- Eventual reatest all-time closer was traded for Sheff the first season. So who all do you think fits on this list, or shouldn't be on it?

While I agree that in the early years there was too much teal (w/ the teal hats, teal undershirts and teal batting helmets), but the color scheme now is also out of balance w/ too much black and not enough teal. Currently, the only teal on the uniforms (and most advertisements and merchandise) is a thin line around the "Marlins", "Florida" naems and numbers. It's so thin it doesn't appear in photos or tv, so in the end the Marlins end up looking plain, drab and unexciting. I liked it when in 97 they started wearing the black undershirts and the black hats all the time (which I believe technically were once considered the road hat, w/ the teal w/ black rim the alternate) was agreat balance. We had the teal lettering and pinstipres for pop, and black everything else to complement. We were unique, and it was the color scheme us early fans took to heart. The current ownership's abandonment of teal and black in favor of black and silver (with orange thrown in for good measure) almost seems like a slap in the face to the pre-2003 fans.

I, too, have visions of him going to the Rays for two reasons: 1) He's from Tampa (would be the Andre Dawson, return home to finish career move) and 2) They're DH spot has been one of their weaknesses this season. Not that he'd necessarily be a huge upgrade, but I believe his production from regular playing time warrants some consideration.

They both are quite similar, in my opinion, but I believe if the Rays can make it to the WS and win, they will be considered the better of the two simply because of the opponents they beat along the way (Yanks and Red Sox) and the way they won it (American League East Champs). In addition while the 02 Marlins and 07 Rays were both woeful, last year's Rays WERE the worst team in baseball (at least the Marlins were a few wins away from a .500 season). The biggest similarities, in my mind, is that for both teams, the playoff squads were essentially the same as the previous years' with a few key additions that seemed to put them over the hump. With the Marlins, it was Pudge, Willis and Urbina. With the Rays, it's Longoria, Garza and Bartlett.

My personal choice would be keep Cantu at 3B and fill the 1B slot with someone else. Test the market with Dallas and Andino. We could use some pen help next year (Gregg and Rhodes should both be gone due to financial restraints) and those two could bring us some decent arms to help a very young pen. Cantu cannot stay predominantly at 3B for defensive reasons. He is literally that bad. Dallas is a much better defender, and so is Helms in a pinch. The optimum orientation is, vs RHP Dallas (3B) Cantu/Sanchez (1B), vs LHP Cantu (3B), Sanchez (1B). Dallas slugs the crap out of RHP, Gaby and Cantu both have a lot of success vs LHP, and Cantu can predominantly play 1B vs RHP with Sanchez mixed in occasionally. It's a perfect platoon, especially with Helms behind all of them now who can pick up the slack vs LHP if someone is struggling. My only problem wit hthis proposal is that we would then have a platoon at both first and third...not an ideal situation in my mind no matter the righty/lefty splits. I could understand this year because we were trying to replace the void at third left by Miggy, and JAke was so woeful against lefty pitching. However, both issues will not exist next season (because we proved we could replace Miggy's bat and upgrade the defense at the position, and Jake should be gone) thus there's no reason to platoon both positions. There simply is not enough playing time to go around in that situation, thus Gaby and Dallas would both suffer; young players need AB's and rep's in order to establish a groove, and I think this moove would negate the purpose of platooning in the first place. Just my take.

While I don't think he will be traded, I definitely can't say that he won't be. Any talk of putting him at 2B is utter nonsense. After the ASB he was very good at 3B. Before the ASB he was learning the position. It was like 2 different defensive players. In what way? Nonsense to suggest putting a player back at his natural position when we have other options at the two positions he played this past season?

Not that I want to see EITHER Danny or Cantu traded, of the two, I agree it should be Uggla because of the value we would receive in return. However, I want to point out a possibility not discussed before. We all assume JAke is going to be gone, and quite possibly Uggs. Many would agree Coghlan's not quite ready. What about giving Gaby the chance to win te 1st base job, Dallas/Wes Helms splitting time at 3rd and moving Cantu to second? Jorge played 2nd with the Rays most of his time there, and is his natural position. He'd be much better defensively there, and would free up the corners where there is much more promise and possibilities.

As far as inflation, a recession doesn't necessarily mean lower costs; reference stagflation. My biggest concern is the Fed will continue to lower interest rates and print money to spur economic growth as they have the past 7 years or so, but the deep, mortgage-based troubled credit market and slumping Dow create a recipe for Economic woe circa the late 70's. That doesn't mean if there is continued inflation that it will derail the stadium. The Marlins are on the hook for construction overruns provided they are not caused by delays on the part of the city or county, so the impact there (to the gov't and taxayers, anyway) is negligible. I do believe what the original message said where it might be more difficult to issue the munincipal bonds becuase of market instability and the credit crunch, bu in the end, they will be able to secure the cash because government and municipal bonds are some of the safest investments, especially right now. A lot of investors are leaving the equity markets and putting their money in bonds. The 0 million GOB has been secured and issued, so that's not the problem, but the rest of the bonds HAVEN'T because the stadium deal is not finalized yet, and no underwriter (which I am) would not sign off on one before all of the i's are dotted bc of the Braman lawsuit throwing everything up in the air. I personally feel the real concern here isn't construcion costs or the ability to secure the bonds, but actually the tourist tax revenue the county will use to help pay off the debt. In times like these, travel and entertainment are some of the first things to go. The other thing to consider is how politically pushing through the final stadium votes will be with the elections coming up. I feel that's the real reason for the delay in the final votes and renderings from the team, not the final judgement from the Judge (Which she has already indicated as being favorable). It was just several weeks ago the city/county and team said they were going to press on regrdless.

I'm not a big fan of acquiring talent that we once had; I can't get over the fact that a player's "best years" were not in teal, an that we'd have to pay more for him now t obring him back than he made when he was with us originally. While Winn's put together some solid seasons, if he was good enough to start in right for us, we would have protected him in the expansion draft in 97. While Hermida regressed in a lot of areas this year, defense in my opinion actually improved over last season. Considering he represents a #1 draft pick and lots of (to this point, unrealized) potential, I'm not quite ready to give up on him yet...and I don't believe the Marlins are yet, either. Considering the down year he had, and overall lackluster ML #'s, he should still be affordable through arbitration. Defense in left, at 1st and second, well those are the areas we need to foucs on.

Sometimes they change the names w/ the new affiliations because they're looking for a new identity (or because the old name was tied to the old parent club). The Suns, however, have been the Suns since at least the early 90's when they were a Tigers affiliate, so I hope hat remains the same. Regardless, since it seems like AA is the launching pad for the Big League Fish, it will be great to have them in FL.

I guess I was wrong...it's not in the actual agreement, only the 30 yr non-relocation agreement. I do know Loria went on record on this matter, however. I'm sure that, even though it wasn't in the actual agreement, it was part of the discussions andd negotiations. However, Loria's argument in a low payroll is that their current revenue streams due to the Dolphins Stadium lease and attendance issues due to location and weather will all be solved by the new stadium, so he will no longer be able to use that argument. While we know he's truning a profit due to revenue sharing (and they do have the right to operate profitably as a business), but the revenue and profit potential for having a compettiive team that draws large attendance I would think exceeds what they get now. You have to believe they will act in their best interests, which means fielding a competitive team that people will want to see. And remember, a high payroll doesn't necessarily mean a competitive team. See Yankees and Mets (who slipped to a tie of the Wild Card lead last night), and the Dodgers in previous years. We were able to stay in serious playoff contention much of the season with the lowest payroll in the majors, afterall, and look at the Rays- they have the second lowest and could win the AL East. I think what we can expect to seee once the stadium is built is for the outstanding player scouting and development to continue, and to break the cycle of releasing or trading young players once they hit their arbitration years. I think we will sign the Scotty O's, the Hammer's and Cody Ross's of the world to long-term deals similar to Hanley's; that is how the payroll will rise. Those expecting us to sign huge, multi-year free-agent deals to bring in superstar-calibre players I think will be dissapointed, because that's never been the franchise's M.O.

Plus, I believe it is in the actual stadium agreement where they will field a competitive team with a payroll at least in the middle of major league baseball. I'll check the doc and see if that's acurate.

Nothing here yet but a shadow profile of Billy and a "Coming Soon" sign, but I'll be checking frequently for renderings and updates.

Uggla's walkoff grand slam against the Phillies. I second that.

Unfortunately I will continue my trend of never being able to go to a Marlins game, but it looks likely I will be able to go to some games at the Trop when the Rays entertain the Yankees and Red Sox during a homestand in late July/early August. I would love to go to a Marlins game obv, but when im across on holiday Im gonna be in Orlando for a week and somewhere down Sarasota way for a week so the drive to Miami is a bit long. 4 hours Iv been told? 4 hours? That's how long it takes me to come down from Orlando. Sarasota's more like 3.

Personally I think the Phillies will win the division. If we manage to sweep the Astros then we will have the same record as them, leaving only the Muts and the Brew Crew in front of us in the WC. If 2 teams are tied at the end of the season do they use head-to-head to seperate them or just set up a one off game instead? In '95, the Angels and Mariners played a 1 game playoff to declare the winner of the AL West following the largest swan song in hisotry by the Angels. I do not know the current rules, as collective bargaining might have changed the scenario. But seeing as Bud Selig is now the commissioner and how he like games to decide things (see All-Star game), I suppose it's still a 1 game playoff.

I'm just curious which of our 4 new call-ups you all think will have the biggest impact the rest of the way? I personally think it will be Delgado. If they're truly thinking of moving Jake, they're probably going to get him in as many of the remaining games as possible to showcase, so Gaby I think will be riding some pine, might be late inning replacement. The same could be said for Maybin if Cody doesn't fit into their future plans. That leaves Tucker and Delgado. Tuck showed signs of being a quality member of our staff, but we all know that eventually he fizzled out. I just don't see him getting many chances, because he's a known commodity (at least this season). While Jesus got the callup earlier, he didn't actually get into a game, so I see him getting quite a few relief innings, maybe against some tough right-handed hitters. Of course, I might be slighlty biased because I've been rooting for Jesus after he threw a ball to me and my son (3) last spring at my boy's first baeball game. Coincidentally, who do you think is going to be sent down since the 40 man is full and Gaby is not currently on it? I don't know what you're showcasing for a guy with 32 HRs, BA .243 and OBP .289. Let his 32 HRs do the talking and sit him down the rest of the way. Yeah, but 40 HR's (even 35) make the worful BA and OBP look less...woeful.

As much as I like Jai and his potential, I hpe for his sake it's him that way he can get a shot elsewhere. I think he's running out of options, and it doesn't look liek the Marlins are ready to part w/ Hermida or Hammer yet.

I'm just curious which of our 4 new call-ups you all think will have the biggest impact the rest of the way? I personally think it will be Delgado. If they're truly thinking of moving Jake, they're probably going to get him in as many of the remaining games as possible to showcase, so Gaby I think will be riding some pine, might be late inning replacement. The same could be said for Maybin if Cody doesn't fit into their future plans. That leaves Tucker and Delgado. Tuck showed signs of being a quality member of our staff, but we all know that eventually he fizzled out. I just don't see him getting many chances, because he's a known commodity (at least this season). While Jesus got the callup earlier, he didn't actually get into a game, so I see him getting quite a few relief innings, maybe against some tough right-handed hitters. Of course, I might be slighlty biased because I've been rooting for Jesus after he threw a ball to me and my son (3) last spring at my boy's first baeball game. Coincidentally, who do you think is going to be sent down since the 40 man is full and Gaby is not currently on it?

I wish they got rid of the local blackout =/ I agree, that way all of us Marlins fans in Orlando would get to see them again. Blackouts in S. FL I can undersand, but Central Florida??? MLB territorial restrictions have been the bane of my existnce for 10 yrs now.